A one-word change
Congressman Josh Gottheimer has introduced the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, which would require sportsbooks and prediction markets to verify a user's age by facial recognition before accepting a bet. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour appeared alongside the lawmaker at the rollout. Attorney Daniel Wallach says the text carries a loophole for gaming contracts to move into sports and casino.
The bill bars bets from users under 18 without facial recognition verification. Wallach points to an amendment to the Commodity Exchange Act that rewrites the CFTC's limits. The commission can currently block contracts involving terrorism, violence and gambling; the new wording would restrict it to contracts 'based on' those categories. That, he argues, clears the way for sports and casino contracts as long as they do not directly 'encourage violence'.
Donations and lobbying
The 27-page document mentions 'facial' once. Wallach called it a change of subject.
Sponsors include Gottheimer, Kristen McDonald Rivet and Jeff Van Drew. They have taken donations from Kalshi. Mansour gave $7,000 to four congressmen, among them Gottheimer and Rivet. Co-founder Luana Lopes Lara sent $7,000 to Congressman Darren Soto. Kalshi spent more than $1 million on lobbying last year, behind only the American Gaming Association and the Gila River Indian Community.
Kalshi did not respond to a request for comment.
